Contemplative Bible Reading

Jude 1:22-23 (New English Translation)

22 And have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy on others, coupled with a fear of God, hating even the clothes stained by the flesh

Jude is writing to dear friends in Christ. There are sinful people all around these dear friends. Sin creeps into the group regularly, so Jude encourages the friends on how to act.

Show mercy; snatch others out of the fires of sin. Sin is so detestable that Jude describes it as staining the clothes worn by the person who commits sin.

Stained clothes? Yes. And clothes are replaceable; souls are not. Take away the stained clothes and burn them. Save the soul from the burning fires of punishment.

That is what Jesus did for us. Let us remind ourselves daily of the gift of grace. Let us show what mercy we can to one another and keep the stained clothes away.

Titus 1:2 (New Living Translation)

This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.

Paul is writing to Titus about the truth of Jesus Christ. One of the benefits of this truth is the confidence that the followers of Christ have eternal life which was promised to them by God.

Confidence. Said. Done. Over. Settled. Confidence. Enough one-word sentences.

There is no room for, “Well, I’m a pretty good fella’ and I try and ya’ know I’m hoping this works out, but…” The truth of Jesus Christ gives me confidence in eternal life. I should not doubt. I should not lack faith. I should trust completely in the power of Jesus Grace and the saving grace given to me.

Of course this is simple but complicated at the same time. There are days when I think a lot about the complicated part. Those are bad days. Please God, help me through them and claim the confidence that is right in front of me.

2 Peter 2:9 (New Living Translation)

So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.

Here’s the task: rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment.

Okay, rescue, not easy, but okay, can do. Punish wicked people, okay, not easy, but okay, can do. Now, let’s do both things at the same time. Well, I’ve seen it done in the movies many times, but that isn’t real life. What about the children of the punished wicked? How do I keep from hurting the innocent? Will they become godly and need rescuing from me? Well, I’ll have to come up with some kind of … this starts to get complicated.

Not to worry, the Lord knows how. Of course the Lord knows how. Of course I don’t know how. I’ll let the Lord handle this. Well, there are days when I can do it so I will just… Nope. I will let the Lord handle this. I will trust the Lord. I will be patient. At least I will try to be patient and humble and wait for the Lord to do the right thing at the right time. That isn’t easy for me. Please God, help me.

1 Timothy 1:9 (New Living Translation)

For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders.

There are many things to write about his verse and this concept. One of the simplest comes from the first sentence. Righteous and loving people don’t need stop signs at an intersection. Righteous and loving people stop, let others go first, and proceed when it is proper and safe.

Do I find myself “cheating” a bit at stop signs? Oooooops. Am I being righteous on those days? Well, uh, er, you see … Nope. Righteous and loving persons are righteous and loving all the time. In our cars, when doing our taxes, when waiting in line at the grocery store, when … well, when not? Please God, help me when … well, when not?

Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Translation)

For we are God’s masterpiece.

Wikipedia tells me that a masterpiece is:

one that is considered the greatest work of a person’s career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterpiece

We are the greatest work of God’s career.

Let’s consider that one for twenty or thirty years.

Okay, resume reading: there must be some mistake in translation or something. Consider the cosmos and all those stars in the sky. Consider birds of the field and the fish in the seas. And consider the little girl who is sitting nearby here in Starbucks smiling at the ability to climb up in a chair “all by herself” while her mother adores her innocence and effort.

What is the greater work mentioned above? Yes, the little girl who can climb into a chair for the first time “all by herself.” That little girl is God’s masterpiece—God’s greatest creation.

I tried to be a good father as my sons were growing up. I failed often. I wish I could go back and appreciate the masterpieces God gave me.

And then there are all the adults sitting around in here and walking in and out. Masterpieces from God.

Why is it hard for me to appreciate and love a masterpiece from God? Silly me. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Luke 5:20 (New Living Translation)

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. Jesus was in a home. The crowds of people wanting to hear Jesus were big and thick and … crowded. There was a paralyzed man on a mat. Friends of the paralyzed man cut a hole in the roof of the home and lowered the man down to Jesus to be healed.

Jesus saw the faith of the paralyzed man and also the faith of his friends. Let’s note the friends:

• They carried the paralyzed man all the way from where he stayed to where Jesus was talking. Quite an effort.
• They tried to push through the crowds in vain. Quite an effort.
• They carried the man up to the roof of the home. Quite an effort.
• They dug a big hole through the roof of the home. Yes, quite an effort.
• They gently lowered the main down through the hole in the roof to Jesus. Again, quite an effort.

These friends worked very hard so that their friend would be in front of Jesus. You don’t work that hard for nothing. You do it only if you believe in miracles—only if you believe in Jesus’ power to save.

There are many thoughts I can write after noting this faith. One concerns “going to church.” Many are criticized as “pew sitters,” i.e., people who come to church on Sunday but never do anything else. Hey, there are many places to be on a Sunday morning. Choosing to be in a church building is not high on the list of many people. Those who “show up” on Sunday are like the friends in the story: they believe in Jesus’ power to save. Otherwise, they would be somewhere else.

Yes, we can criticize folks for “just coming to church” and all that. Still, let’s recognize faith in Jesus when we see it. Let’s commend folks for having that faith. We can do better.

Luke 4:5-7 (New Living Translation)

5 Then the devil took him (Jesus) up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. The devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.

“I can give you all the kingdoms of the world,” says the devil. “They are mine to give to anyone.”

Truth? Lying boast? Does the devil own all the kingdoms of the world? Can the devil give the kingdoms of the world to anyone?

What are the kingdoms of the world anyways? Just lots of stuff. Well, you can do a lot of good with all that stuff. Then again, you can do lots of bad with all that stuff. How has mankind done with all that stuff over the centuries? Not so good in many cases. See for example, well, there is a long list of wars that brought suffering to mankind. Then we can discuss… well, let’s not discuss those things. They are too ugly.

What are the kingdoms of the world anyways? So what if the devil owns them and can give them to whom he wants? Perhaps this is too much philosophy and speculation for a Saturday morning while drinking coffee. There is something in the Bible about treasures that moths and rust destroy. There are plenty of “lost civilizations” being unearthed by swarms of grad students working for free.

What are the kingdoms of the world anyways? I guess the devil can have them if he wants. They aren’t much. Life with God is worth so much more.

Daniel 4:16 (New English Translation)

Let his mind be altered from that of a human being,
and let an animal’s mind be given to him,
and let seven periods of time go by for him.

This is part of the (hi)story of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar what will come of him for the next few years of his life. This is a punishment for not acknowledging God.

Nebuchadnezzar will “lose his mind.” Well, sort of. His mind will be altered from that of a person to that of an animal.

Hmmmm. There is a difference between the mind of a person and the mind of an animal. Is an animal capable of acknowledging God? Some animals are “smart” or “smarter” than other animals. Pigs are supposed to be some of the smartest animals. Some breeds of dogs are smarter than others. Really? Or is that just something we like to talk about sometimes?

Things were bad for Nebuchadnezzar for seven years. “He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws.” (verse 33 of the same chapter)

No, the mind of an animal is not like the mind of a person. God made us differently to be different. That you God for giving me the mind of a person. I can sit here in a coffee shop and wonder about the greatness of God and God’s wisdom.

Galatians 1:4 (New Living Translation)

Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.

Paul is writing this letter to the churches of Galatia. This is part of the first words or the introduction. In the, “Dear Folks in Galatia” that I usually skip when reading, Paul says something powerful and significant.

Jesus gave his life for our sins. Jesus’ death took away our sins. Why? To rescue us from the evil world in which we live.

Life on earth is good (for many of us). Air conditioning. Good hot coffee. HD (or is it now UHD 4K) TV. More food than I can and should eat.

Life on earth is evil. We live in an evil world. The week I wrote this fires killed many in the paradise of Hawaii. What? How? Simple—this is an evil world. Terrible things happen to people. And many of those people are fine people. Many are Christians as well.

What am I to do in this evil world? Do the best I can with the grace of God. I know that God has rescued me from this place. My rescue hasn’t happened today. When will it? I don’t know. It is promised; it will be. Thank you God.

Daniel 3:28 (New Living Translation)

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”

This is part of the (hi)story of the three Jewish fellows who refused to worship anyone other than the true God. As punishment, they were thrown into “the fiery furnace.” It had been heated way past its limits (they turned it to “11” as the old silly movie would say). The people who pushed the three Jewish men into the furnace were killed by the heat.

King Nebuchadnezzar looks into the furnace and sees the three Jewish men walking around (big furnace) and also sees a fourth. Nebuchadnezzar says the fourth person is an angel.

How did Nebuchadnezzar know what an angel looked like? I don’t know what an angel looks like. I mean, angels have wings or something, right? That’s what I see in all the drawings and paintings. Angels fly, float in the air, glow, and stuff like that right? I don’t know what an angel looks like.

Nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar recognizes an angel from God. Nebuchadnezzar had not previously acknowledge the true God. Yet, here he is, he recognizes an angel.

How does God do this? How does God put things into the minds of people so that we know something when we see it? God has been doing these things that we don’t understand and struggle to believe for thousands of years. God is amazing. I cannot comprehend the ability and magnificence of God. And God still takes care of little old me.